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Our Father in heaven even as we have been reminded this morning Salvation is of the Lord. It's of you and Lord. We your people gathered this morning in praise and adoration and thankfulness and Father we would just ask that you would bless this time as we look to what your word says about your son specifically his humanity.
Father we pray that you would bless this time as we Even examine how this might impact our lives how we ought to think about The ministry of the Holy Spirit. And father. I pray that you would bless our time in Christ's name.
Amen. Well, I wanted to. I Don't know. I'm Thinking maybe in a week or two two weeks might be too long. I'm just spending a little bit of time talking about The election. Why would I do that? Well, because I have one specific thing that I I want to draw to everyone's attention and that's question three on your ballot because I Do believe it is a biblical issue a moral issue.
In fact, I was really not to say this this week. Question three is the one about Gambling and casinos in Massachusetts. There's a lot of advertisement. I've noticed it's funny. It's all on one side. You know about how it's going to save jobs and everything I read this week an interesting statistic that more people I Think this is in Atlantic City more people were on the voluntary Exemption list to casinos.
They never had jobs there. You know what the voluntary exemption list is. Those are the people who say I don't want admittance to your casino because I can't control myself. More people were on that list.
They never had jobs in any of those casinos. Don't let me in it destroys lives. Gambling is very pernicious. Anyway We've been talking about the man Christ Jesus a great book really a thought-provoking paradigm shifting book not because it's Well because it's biblical and because it causes us to think about things that we don't normally think about it is common for us to think about Christ as God as deity.
The second person of the Trinity it's less common for us to think about him as being fully human. Those are both true. And we've talked about the you know the error on one hand if you just say he's just a man then you've Committed the error of Arianism at the very least, you know you've you've made him a created being and on the other end you wind up being some kind of a Mystic if you say that he never was physically Human you're wrong, too and so the truth is in the middle and so it's finding that balance and we ended last week just talking about how the Apostles talked about Jesus after he was Resurrected still stressing the fact that yes, he was God, but also fully human.
Fully human and I wanted to just continue Developing that and then we'll go into some other aspects of the life of Jesus. But let's turn to Isaiah chapter 42. For those of you who are not familiar with this term there are servant songs in the Book of Isaiah.
Isaiah, I mean, I can't remember them all over at the top of my head, but it's Isaiah 42 49 56 63 66 something like that. There are several of them in the book of Isaiah and these are specifically speaking about a servant whom God appoints and Isaiah 42 and we're gonna read verses 1 to 4 and would somebody read that please Isaiah Bruce 42 1 to 4 and one of the one of the issues.
Thank you. One of the issues that's raised here is If this is Jesus Then the the question comes along if you look at verse 1 I have put my spirit upon him the question would be Why? Why the necessity of the Holy Spirit?
If this is Jesus God second person of the Trinity why the necessity of the Spirit? Commentator Oswald Says this about this passage. He says this servant will not function listen in his own strength. He is supported by God and God finds the deepest satisfaction.
In him the description of Jesus baptism was unquestionably intended to remind us of this passage. Why what do we see at Jesus baptism that's Would bring this to mind. The Spirit descending like a dove right I Place my spirit upon him.
Not only is God said to be well pleased with his son but also we are did help to understand why Jesus thought it important that he should undergo the ritual of Baptism to fulfill all righteousness, right?
The Messiah was one on whom God's Spirit visibly rested. Obviously the ritual did not procure the fullness of the Spirit. But it did serve to illustrate to the world that this strange Galilean was indeed the promised one.
In other words Jesus did this because of his and his hearers understandings of passages like this in Isaiah. Bruce Ware says this text refers fundamentally talking about Isaiah 42. Refers fundamentally to elements of his work that will take place in his second coming not his first.
He goes on to explain it. He does come quietly as it were with a humility meekness and servant-heartedness that fit the description. But the larger teaching of bringing forth justice to the nations or the Gentiles was that the new King James verse I Like Gentiles, that's the idea of the nations beyond the borders of Israel.
And establishing justice on the earth await his second coming. I Was talking about the news, you know, if you read the news, you're probably gonna be anxious and fearful. I read the news and I kind of get more annoyed than anything else, but I'm not fearful but when we Forgotten what my whole point was.
Oh when we see. When we watch the news when we read the news, what do we see? Do we see justice or injustice? Do we see right prevailing or does it seem like wrong gets its way much too much of the time.
And even when there is justice, even when some notorious criminal or somebody else is caught do we ever think? You know, this guy is going to get what he deserves. I mean even as an unbeliever. I understood that.
That's one of the things that kind of put me in that agnostic category. And by the way, if you're talking to an agnostic real quick thing, what is agnosticism? What is that? Yeah, it's a profession of ignorance.
I'm an agnostic. Oh, so by your own statement, you're ignorant, you know. Might not be the best evangelistic approach but but even as an agnostic, you know in my mind and I was ignorant. You know, I just thought I would see so many cases in which justice was not done.
And that's the way this world works even in the best scenarios. It's not justice. Because they don't criminals rarely get what they deserve. But I would think you know what there has to be a God because someone has to give those people what they deserve.
I wasn't thinking about me. But it's true right God will do right he will bring about justice and when is that justice? Well, it's not established yet. If this world is filled with justice. I Bring Justice why he says here.
His first coming was for the salvation of the nations. That's what we're seeing. Now is people coming to faith in Christ. His second coming will bring to those nations his fierce and relentless judgments.
Shadows of Acts 17 a day is coming when what's gonna happen when that day comes, you know He's God is going to judge the world through the Lord Jesus Christ. Now Where makes a statement here and this one this one?
I'm still trying to work out and I honestly don't have an answer for that for this question. He says or my question my phrasing of it is will Jesus forever work in his humanity? I mean, it's true right in heaven Jesus will be he will have His human body we will be able to still recognize him as our Lord and Savior.
He will be Jesus the man. But he says this and this is intriguing to me. I'm not really convinced. And so I'm throwing this out with an asterisk. He is for every human from the moment of his conception in the womb of Mary forever has the Spirit upon him working through him to accomplish the work the Father has given him to do and A little bit later the book he says this he lived his life as one of us.
He accepted the limitations of his humanity and relied upon the guidance of the Father. Or the Father would give him and the power of the Spirit would provide to live in day-by-day Perfect obedience to the Father, but he says that in heaven basically he will rule by the power of the Holy Spirit so I'm not fully convinced in that but I I'm willing to be wrong.
But let's get to the questions and just kind of summarize this before we move on to the next portion of the book. What can we learn from the example of the man Christ Jesus? What can we learn from the example of the man Christ Jesus and we'll see more of this the next section of the book.
I'll just tell you right now is it's called Increasing in wisdom and I think you'll really be encouraged and challenged by that. But I want to read this. What he says his answer for what can we learn from the example of the man Christ Jesus?
Where says rather than drawing upon the infinite resource of his divine nature He prayed for help and trusted both his father and the Spirit to bring him what he needed. Does that have any direct application to us?
If Jesus did not rely on himself and he could have right He could have said you know what as God I'm going to do This or I'm gonna bring myself this that or the other thing. But he relied and trusted on his father and the Holy Spirit then what should we do?
Our tendency is to try to do what to try to solve all of our problems. Ourselves in our own strength, and I don't know about you, but sometimes You know one of my least favorite movies of all time by Disney is the one that has all the symphony and Yeah, I hate that movie sorry sorry, I know there are people who love it.
I hate it, but there's this one section. I call the the the apprentice the wizards apprentice the sorcerers apprentice and Everything he does right makes the situation worse and sometimes. I think that's true in our own lives.
You know we have a problem. We're gonna solve it on our own strength in our own power at our own wisdom and What happens? Things just get worse and worse and worse and worse and Then we just finally get to a point where we say you know what I?
Give up I Turn this over to you Lord, and then what happens? The stress is off of us and the problem whatever it is Gets resolved, maybe it's not exactly in the way that we would like it to have been resolved, but it gets resolved and Rather than worrying about it fussing about it and trying to straighten it all on our own strength when we rely on the Lord when We rely on him and his wisdom then things go the way that he would have them go in the first place.
He also asked this question. He says what are some of the specific ways our speech? Actions attitudes and behavior should reflect Christ. Can you think of I mean there are passages? Can you think of a passage, and I don't have this in my notes.
Can you think of a passage that says be imitators of Christ. Is there a passage like that in the Bible? Don't everybody raise your hand at once being Weighty experts in the Bible. I do think there. There are a few there in I think even a first Peter but I'm gonna go to a Different one and just just listen to this passage and tell me If this just doesn't sound right.
Therefore be imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you as is proper among Saints.
Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking which are out of place. But instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this that everyone who is Sexually immoral or impure or who is covetous that is an idolatry has no inheritance in the kingdom of God.
In fact, I'll read verse 6 let no one deceive you with empty words for because these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. You know beyond sexual immorality just the the idea of not having impurity of language.
Let no filthiness. Let no coarse jesting come out of your mouth. What does that mean? I mean, can you imagine Jesus sitting around with the boys and you know, telling course of vulgar jokes. The answer is no.
Is that a way that we should imitate him? Yes, why. Because really we are to we could go to James were to be in control of our tongues were to have Self-control as Galatians 5 says fruit of the Spirit.
We think that sometimes I think that we think that what we say Doesn't really matter all that much it does matter because as a child of the king we are to represent him. To show forth his likeness in all of our discussions and all of our thoughts.
I think also, you know just thinking about this if We if we were to examine the ministry of Jesus. What we would see Without exception every time something important was about to happen. What did he do?
What's that? He prayed. If he was going to whatever the situation was, I mean, especially if you look at Gethsemane. But whatever the situation was he would go off and pray and he did that a lot. Well, why?
Because he was a man in need of prayer. Yes, he was God, but he needed to maintain that relationship with the father. Third question here is in terms of his humanity. What did Jesus have available to him that we do not?
What did he ever? Available to him that we do not as a human being. Okay, but that's not something he had available to him that we do. He didn't have access to us in nature. Okay. So I I was thinking of all the scripture things that I like to quote the most which would be the least applicable to Jesus.
I would never look at him. Thankfully, you know, I'll never have to even think about such thing. But look at him and go now remember Jeremiah 17 9 the heart is deceitful above all else Bruce. Okay without measure.
I think that's probably right because to some extent We won't have it without measure because we do have that said nature. I Would agree with that. I mean we we could you know. We look at Ephesians 518 and be filled with the Spirit.
Well, that's a command because we're not filled with this with the Spirit all the time. But I think it's interesting what where says he goes think about this. What did Jesus rely upon? Scripture Prayer, I don't know about this one community of faith.
Those disciples weren't too reliable. But okay, you know, he tried to rely on him even if they weren't too good. Community of faith and Holy Spirit empowerment these things are available to us. So what can we learn from the humanity of Jesus?
We had to learn to think like he did. There are issues going on. What should I do? Rely on Scripture prayer community of faith the Holy Spirit. Let's talk about increasing and wisdom. This is really fascinating.
Let's turn to Luke chapter 2. There's only one recorded. Instance of Jesus childhood. I remember when I first got saved I mean, I don't know about you guys, but I was kind of a lunatic. When I first got saved I would go to I think I like my my idea of a field trip was I'm gonna go to the Christian bookstore.
I Just went over and over and and you know, I accidentally wound up walking into a Mormon bookstore one time but but I went into this one bookstore and they had a section of You know Christian books and I went over there and looked at it and one of the books was it talked about Jesus years in India and I thought well, that's fascinating.
I went over there and I picked up the book and you know, it was the silent years between the time he was 12 and the time he was 30 began his ministry and it basically was one of these made-up books. You know where they just said well, this is what Jesus did in India.
They had they didn't have a clue. But what we do have recorded for us is here in Scripture and let's look at Luke chapter 2 and what somebody read verses 41 to 52, please 41 to 52 that's a long stretch 12 verses.
You can yeah, you can go ahead and read All the way through 51. Okay. Now you read that and you know if you're reading it from just a Purely pragmatic point of view, you know, what do you wind up thinking about Mary and Joseph?
They're terrible. You know, it's like they went to the grocery store and I don't know maybe they you know. The kids reached in and stole a couple candy bars while they weren't. Oh, wait a minute. No, it's like it's like store and they They just left their kids there and then came home, you know, and then thought oh, what did we forget?
Well, no, we got the milk the cookies the bread the cucumbers the pickles. Oh, yeah, we forgot the kids. That's not exactly. What happened though, is it? I mean they're they're surprised. Why are they surprised?
Well again, we have to we have to transport our minds back to those times when you went to the Passover. It's not like today where you just got your kids and you got into the station wagon or the minivan or whatever, you know.
And said, okay, let's go to Passover. They'd be coming a little bit of a distance from Northern Israel damage or to Jerusalem. And they would be traveling how in a caravan in a big group. So it would be like, you know, just let's just say for the sake of argument just about everybody from Galilee I mean most people unless they were in firm or you know, I guess maybe the local police officers.
I always like to look out for the cops. You know and had to stay on duty or whatever, you know, I'm sure there were some Skeletal forces left up there or whatever but basically everybody would come down to Jerusalem for this big celebration this big time of remembrance and you would.
It wouldn't just be you and your family. It would be your extended family all your cousins all your friends everybody else. And so what do you suppose Jesus is 12 years old? He probably has fit friends outside of the family and extended family that he liked to hang out with.
And so I'm sure just on the same way in the same way that they didn't notice he was gone for a while after they Returned from Jerusalem on the way down there. I'm sure they weren't tracking him moment by moment.
He's the oldest kid and you know what? Here's a shocking thought for us today 12 years old is almost a grown-up in that culture. You're almost a grown-up. Why because you weren't living to 80 years old most of the time.
You know, so if you're 12 years old at 13, you'd be Bar Mitzvahed, you know, you'd be you'd be thought of as a man. So he's 12 years old. They're thinking this is a pretty responsible kid. He doesn't give us a lot of trouble.
No trouble at all, actually. So if he wants to be off with his friends or his cousins or whatever on this big trip where we're all going anyway. No big deal. And it wasn't like again like today like we had to worry about child predators and all that kind of thing because Everybody was a community.
Everybody knew who was what and where you know, and and so we we had basically our tribe all going down to Jerusalem. Be like all of West Boylston going to Boston, you know, if we all knew everybody and we're all going down there.
You know, that'd be one thing. And that's what it is. It's the entire religious community going down there. So they're not inattentive. But when they start as they start heading on their way and then probably I'm sure at some point, you know Joseph said we should get the whole family to guy.
This is speculation, but this would be like normal, right? You go on a big trip like this and you go, you know what? Why don't we just get the whole family together and have a meal? So they start looking around, you know at all the usual places for Jesus.
They can't find him. That's when they realize he's gone. So they go back they look in a few different places. They finally find Jesus where they really were not expecting to find him. I don't think is in the temple.
But we get a sense of the worry there in verse 48 when his mother says to him Mary says son. Why have you treated us? So behold your father and I have been searching for you in great distress. They're worried.
Maybe there's even an accusation of wrongful treatment. But His response is not disrespectful or sinful he is genuinely perplexed. Verse 49. Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my father's house?
Where says it is clear that Jesus understood even as a twelve-year-old. That his true father was not his legal human father Joseph, but instead his heavenly father the father. So, what do you suppose he was doing in the temple.
This is where things really get kind of I think interesting. What do you suppose he was doing in the temple? What's that? Teaching. He was learning. I put it this way that I in my mind, you know to put it I'll just put it in baseball terms.
This is spring training. He's preparing. This is preparation where says here in the father's house. He was engaged in conversations. That were preparing him for what was to come a number of years later.
You know, I've been teaching through John and in chapter 7 he goes through all these confrontations in the temple with the Pharisees. Now just strictly speaking for myself. That'd be kind of an intimidating sort of thing, but he's already prepared for it.
He's learned at the age of 12 that he can hold his own with these Pharisees that he can engage them in Conversation, you know, how could he stand up boldly to the Pharisees who were misleading the people of God with their twisting of Scripture?
How about by engaging them at such an early age learning their arguments getting to know the weak spots in their arguments? How did he come to have the wisdom to Confound them and to correct them with regard to Scripture during his ministry.
How did he do that? And you know our first thing, you know, he what what does he often say you have heard it said that you know X Y Z, but I say to you Well, how do you learn these things. How did he learn them?
He went to the temple. I mean you have heard it said, you know, this is what you guys teach. But I say to you X Y Z. Well, how do you learn these things for himself? Well Our first answer I think is likely to be because he's God, you know, he could correct them he knew all these things because he's got he had a Supernatural understanding of the Scripture.
He knew the Bible because he was its author. Listen what where says after all we might think those Pharisees and teachers of the law didn't understand who they were dealing with. We reason even as a 12 year old 12 year old boy.
Jesus was able to astonish the greatest teachers in Israel because He was God but where notes that's not the answer a close examination of Luke's writing leads us to look at. Excuse me just back up a verse back to verse 40 and The child speaking of Jesus grew strong grew and became strong filled with wisdom and the favor of God was upon him.
Recognize that phrase, you know the favor of God. Similar to What was said about? Mary listen to verse 52 and Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and with man. Where says Jesus wisdom is not a function of his divine nature.
But an expression of listen his growth as a human being. Jesus gained strength physically as he grew but he was also filled with wisdom. How did he come by his wisdom? Charlie, okay, so he went to his local temple every week with His synagogue, I think more correctly, but they wouldn't call it a temple today.
But yeah his local congregation right and what happened he would hear the rabbis expound the Word of God. They would teach the Bible the Old Testament specifically. How else did he grow in wisdom do you think his Parents taught him.
I'm pretty sure they did other ways. How about his own study of the scripture and when we when we think about this, what do we see we see a pattern for how We should grow a pattern for how we should want our children to grow.
What what the essence of the Christian life of a Godly life is being immersed in scripture. And so that should start at a young age. You know, I'm very I'm very pleased that my My our girls and our sons-in-law love the Lord.
But the way they teach the kids and to hear them, you know, do they perfectly understand scripture? No, but even from a young age, they're able to tell you some things about the Bible and I love that.
Well, Mary and Joseph not having any of the modern distractions. Certainly would have taught Jesus. He would have gone to Synagogue he would have had conversations not just with the Pharisees of the temple but with his friends and others.
Life was focused on scripture. And so what do we what do we learn from that teach your kids? Sit under the teaching of the word. Study the word for yourself and what happens the Holy Spirit uses those things.
He used those things in the life of Jesus and he will use them in your life as well. So let's look at that phrase. What is the the favor of the Lord? What does that mean? Where says we cannot be sure but he notes quotes Jesus growth in every way physically emotionally spiritually and intellectually.
Was a result of the father's favor. Shown to his son now a little boy growing into adulthood. Surely this was the father's favor in providing for his son all. That he would need to grow and develop to fulfill the calling the father had given him.
So when we see the favor of God this is Excuse me all these things coming together. By the power of the Holy Spirit to grow him into the person that he would become. I Have to read Hendrickson here for a moment.
Then we can discuss this some more. Hendrickson notes by and large it resembled the development. Jesus life resembled the development of any other normal child. He's fully human and we need to keep that in mind.
This brings to mind Hebrews 4 15 one who has been in every respect tempted as we are. The finite character of Christ's human nature is sometimes denied. For example when it is suggested that even when he was a man there were certain things which according to his human nature Jesus did not know.
Some devout believers are shocked. The Present passage to shows very clearly that according to his human nature There were certain things which the child Jesus did not know from the start. He had to learn them.
He had to grow up and this not only physically but also mentally etc in a sense. Did not the process of learning continue throughout his life? Hendrickson continues those who deny this are in danger of acquiring the mentality of that must have marked the authors of certain apocryphal Writings.
Just been reading about John 8 because I'm getting ready to teach that here in several weeks and You know the first 11 verses. Some of the most in the end of John 7 to I think beginning in like verse 52.
So many people love those verses. You know where the Pharisees dragged this woman caught in the act of adultery and Jesus just writes, you know some words in the sand. Well, what was he writing? Oh was the sins of the Pharisees blah blah blah blah, you know.
Let him who's without sin cast the first stone and it's a great story. The only problem is it shouldn't be in the Bible kind of shocking, but it's true. It's not in any I think it's in like in one manuscript and it really shouldn't be there.
That's why it's marked off in parentheses and all that other stuff. And These are apocryphal stories. They're made-up stories. And so he says have marked the authors of certain apocryphal writings. These picture Jesus as being even according to his human nature Omniscient and Almighty or at least according or at least nearly so and this from the very start even as a child.
Lions and leopards worship him. That's what I'm you know, I'm talking about these stories in India and all that other stuff. You know, they make this stuff up. Lions and leopards worship him the infant Jesus says to a palm tree Bend down and refresh my mother with your fruit and it does so immediately after five years of age Jesus models Twelve sparrows out of soft clay.
He claps his hand and the sparrows become alive and fly away, etc Etc. It's a story after story made up and all this is clearly contrary to the pleasing reticence. That marks Luke 240. We I just think it's so important that we and we will learn from the life of Jesus how Really the Spirit can work in our own lives if he again if he's just God and that's all he is then there's really nothing For us to learn we just go.
Oh, well, he's God. What do you expect? Where says it seems reasonable in any case to understand Luke's reference to the father? Placing placed upon his son the the Pleasure of the father the favor of the father placed upon his son to be the Spirit who came upon him at his conception.
Let's look at Luke 135 just back up a few verses here and the angel answered her Mary. The Holy Spirit will come upon you and The power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called Holy the Son of God.
Where notes Luke likely has in mind here. Not only the conception of Jesus as sinless which holy but also the conception of Jesus as indwelt By the Holy Spirit. Can you think of anybody else who was indwelt by the Holy Spirit in the womb?
John the Baptist. Let's look at Isaiah chapter 11 again. We looked at it last week. I think it was Yeah, Charlie. Was there some sort of special communion reserved for the second person of the Trinity that We cannot expect to enjoy, you know specifically thinking of the cross my god my god.
Why have you forsaken me? That's a good question I don't really know that I'm prepared to answer that other than to say this that I think and I'll get to you Bruce in a second, I think there was a very a very real sense in which Jesus felt the Abandonment was aware of the abandonment by the father because he had even in his humanness Been able to go in prayer and to receive Answers to be of the Holy Spirit, you know, how did he pick his disciples?
Well, it wasn't by his own willy-nilly picking it was by The power of the Holy Spirit. How did he do a lot of things by the power of the Spirit and so to have That Sense of abandonment by the father.
It doesn't say that the Spirit turned away from him, but I I'm sure. Well, let's put it this way 2nd Corinthians 5 21 God made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf. So when he looked on Jesus at the cross, what did he see our sin our guilt?
Our deserved Punishment and he poured it out on Jesus and so I think in that moment there was a Probably I don't want to go too far here but I certainly a break between the father and the son for that moment in time and probably a sense of Lostness even with the Spirit so that he felt alone Because of what he was going through.
So, I think I think that's probably so is that something that we can't expect to experience that special communion well, I think it gets down to What was mentioned earlier our sin nature? There are gonna be times where we feel estranged from God or separated from God.
But that's because of our sin because we fail because we push the Holy Spirit out because we don't do as we ought to do. And Other than that, go ahead Charlie, you know, they don't get back to Bruce. Well, I I think we're gonna get into that section right now and I think what we're going to see is Kind of it's it's implicit in this idea that it grew but I think we're going to see that the Holy Spirit if we just if we just think about it and I think where is Right about this if we just kind of contemplate it for a few minutes and we think about the focus of Jesus being taught.
Studying, you know, what would happen? As he studied various passages scripture and I'll just give you a little preview because we won't get to this till next week anyway but as he read say Psalm 22 or Isaiah 53.
Now we read scripture and sometimes I don't know if you've ever had this experience. You know, I'll have this inner voice tell me that that's me or not Isaiah 53, but I can't I I've never had that inner voice.
But yeah. But but we'll have a sense, you know in which you know, maybe even the let's let's just say, you know a kind of a Nehemiah, you know, you are you are the Nehemiah we'll just have sort of a A Conviction that this is something that I need to do or this side of the other thing.
You know, is that the Holy Spirit speaking to me? I I don't really think so. But it could be you know, it's not speaking to me. It's just convicting me. It's you know, the Hebrews 412 thing. But with Jesus as he's studying these things and mulling them over, you know, Psalm 22 and the Holy Spirit says to him This is you.
This is your future. Isaiah 53. This is you. This is your future I think as he's studying and growing and becoming more aware of who he is of the divine nature because I think there was not a Psychotic break but a limited awareness of who he was that grew over time until He finally is aware of these things and I think we'll see That I mean certainly by the age of 12 he understood part of this but you know.
Why couldn't he die at the age of 12 and where's going to argue that? Not only did he need to live a life that was Righteous and perfect for an extended period of time, but also That he had to grow to a place where he could withstand everything that he was going to go through.
That you know as God he certainly could have withstood all these things but as man he had to grow up and be ready so Bruce I'm not gonna disagree with that. I but I I think again that just goes to. You know the cut the the work of the the spirit.
So basically the the spirit being the conduit there, but go ahead. Yeah. Yes. Yeah, but but again, I think it's always a matter of and I think that's right. Did he enjoy greater communion than anyone?
Yes but it's also something that he. And we'll get to this next week that he did grow in you know, he did not. For example, we would not see him in Luke chapter 2 Saying to the Pharisees you say but I say to you, you know that kind of thing.
He would only do that later because it wasn't then time. He was also wasn't ready for the confrontations the The desire of the Pharisees to put him to death and all those guys and you know. Think of what that would have done.
Let's just imagine for just a minute. We really have to close here. Just imagine for a moment at the age of 12 The Pharisees decided that they wanted to kill Jesus because of the things he was saying at the temple.
What would that have done? Understand the Jewish Mentality it would have reflected on who? On the parents specifically on Joseph. So none of those things were going to happen until much later in life.
We need to close in prayer, but I just think it's fascinating. But then the main things I want us to just think about this week are just are these. Jesus informed by his parents informed by listening to the word informed by studying the word the spirit illumining his mind through these things.
How much more diligent ought we to be because we still have sin natures we can't trust our own hearts. We have to be guided and led by the spirit as we study his word as we meditate on these things. And you know what another point where it makes in his book and I really stress this is he goes think about this.
He goes he went to the temple to have theological discussions. We had to have more theological Discussions the more we think the more we contemplate the more we earnestly engage in discussions with one another about heavenly things the more we'll understand them and The more we'll encourage and exhort one another to understand them.
Let's close in prayer father. What a blessing it is to think that your son the Lord Jesus Christ second person of the Trinity would Willingly agree to come on and take the Limitations of humanity to grow to live to suffer to Learn even as we must and yet without a sin nature so that he never failed you not one time.
Not one time did he disobey his parents? Not one time did he? Say anything untoward to his brothers or sisters. Never one time did he fail? Father we are not like him. But by your grace by your word by your spirit father mold us shape us.
Lead us to be more like Christ Jesus. We pray in his name. Amen.